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Barnert & Drewitz
A PhD geologist and a sommelier meet during the Corona lockdown. The result: Barnert & Drewitz, a winery on 0.5 hectares of terraced steep slopes at the Hessian Bergstraße. Eric Barnert maps every square metre, Götz Drewitz brings the sommelier's instinct. Together they produce wines from old vines on granite, diorite, slate and loess. In the vaulted cellar of Schloss Schönberg, wines without artifice are created: spontaneously fermented, minimally sulphited, unfiltered.
More about Barnert & Drewitz
When a Geologist Makes Wine
Eric Barnert logged over a hundred first ascents in the Dolomites and the Franconian Jura before he began mapping the steep vineyard sites of the Bergstraße. His doctorate in geology and an award-winning book on the relationship between soil and wine make him the perfect partner for a project that takes terroir at its word. Götz Drewitz, meanwhile, knows the wines of the world from his time as a sommelier and long-standing employee at a natural wine importer. In 2020, when the world stood still, they asked Nico Brandner of Griesel Sekt whether he knew of any vineyard parcels. He did.
0.5 Hectares, Five Soils
The parcels that Barnert & Drewitz manage today would be considered marginal sites elsewhere. Here, between Bensheim and the Odenwald, they are a geological kaleidoscope: granite weathering that glitters silver in sunlight; diorite that stores warmth; slate that gives Riesling bite; wind-blown sand and loess for fullness. The old vines – some over 40 years old – root deep in this patchwork. Whoever drinks the Riesling Hemsberg tastes cool minerality; the Grauburgunder Terrassen shows creamy depth with a saline finish.
Handwork Without Compromise
The steepness allows no machinery. Every pruning cut, every harvest is done by hand. Organic viticulture is self-evident, even without certification. In the cellar of Schloss Schönberg – the same historic vault where Griesel Sekt also matures – Barnert & Drewitz rely on patience rather than technology. Spontaneous fermentation, long ageing on lees, minimal sulphur, no filtration. The wines are bone-dry, with crisp acidity and a texture reminiscent of wet limestone. Those seeking something similar will find it at Christmann in the neighbouring Palatinate – there as here, granite shapes the mineral signature.
Rediscovering the Bergstraße
Whilst established winemakers in the region are giving up, Barnert & Drewitz venture a counter-proposal. They rescue old top vineyard sites that would otherwise lie fallow. The Riesling "Fürst" Limited Edition comes from such a parcel – only a few hundred bottles, each one tells of patience and geological understanding. For Eric Barnert, who crowned his mountaineering career with over a hundred first ascents, the project is logical: "Some paths you have to forge yourself."